


Distortion

by alextheghostdrummer



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Fluff, Halloween, Haunted House, M/M, Mentions of Panic Attacks, Michael Guerin Loves Alex Manes, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27217081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alextheghostdrummer/pseuds/alextheghostdrummer
Summary: Alex and Michael go to a Hallowen themed fair, explore some, until they go to the Haunted House and something tirggers Alex's PTSD
Relationships: Michael Guerin & Alex Manes, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65
Collections: Home in your arms





	Distortion

**Author's Note:**

> hey! everyday this week imma post a halloween/ horror inspired fic, hope you like it!  
> unbeta'd as always  
> disclaimer: i did some research abt ptsd and hallucinations but i'm by no means an expert, i wrote this for entertainment puporses and as always take feedback and constructive criticism. and finally, i don't want to hurt anyone whatsover by my stories so pls mind the tags!

It was supposed to be a tacky Halloween fair with very cheesy attractions, your average American experience when the calendar proclaimed October 31st. A questionable decision for a first date, nevertheless, there they were, walking amongst children and their parents, groups of teenagers and horror aficionados with equally questionable choices of snacks. Alex and Michael strolled side by side a little awkwardly if you must, background sounds of laughter and screaming permeated the air alongside the smell of grease and sugar. It was a fair after all.

“So, what’s next?”, Michael queried, hands in his pockets, a bit tense

Most people might find odd going on a Halloween fair with your high-school sweetheart and love your life, your “it’s complicated” previous relationship, your “ex-something” as a first date. Though most people haven’t met Alex and Michael. Their relationship was tumultuous for a decade, one of them an alien, and the other’s family… well, let’s not go there tonight. Most people didn’t know about Alex’s love for horror and the look of pure delight on his face experiencing anything related to the genre: movies, books, art; you name it. And most people weren’t aware of Michael’s adoration for his delighted face. Well, the number of oblivious kept decreasing the longer they were at that fair because Michael couldn’t help but stare at Alex with that glimmer of love in his eyes.

“I don’t know”, Alex replied, throwing some popcorn in his mouth, “Haunted house? I mean it is a classic”, he shrugged with a smirk

“Haunted house it is”

They walked towards the decaying-looking attraction which probably would probably be anything but scary bathed in the daylight but since it was close to eight o’clock in the evening it looked mildly intimidating. Standing in the queue with few people in front of them they couldn’t help but stare at each other, the world closing on the both as nothing and no one were more important than the other.

Someone calling next startled them out of their romantic daze and in they went. Red halos illuminated the dim attraction, strew across the space, the couple roamed around the room still close to one another. They watched as the people before them were frightened by others dressed in ridiculous costumes. The “monsters” tried their best to jump-scare Alex and Michael but it only resulted in failed attempts.

Drawn by the light reflected, Alex moved, counterintuitively, to the back of the room, where the maze of mirrors was. Since the entrance door was located more or less in the middle of the room, one could either go back, where they were headed, or go forward and climb up the deceivingly creaky stairs. Alex’s fascination seemed to have made the decision for them.

Once they were close enough, Michael started to feel a bit dizzy, everywhere he looked he found himself, his reflection either closer or farther, more to the left or more to the right. It was so fucking confusing. Meanwhile, Alex seemed to have moved even closer, wide-eyed and transfixed by his own reflection. Something felt off, Michael realized.

“Do you think”, Alex spoke, his voice barely intelligible in the sea of mechanical creepy noises, murmurs and shouts, “Do you think the image is distorted?”

Michael gazed over his own reflection and identified nothing but something resembling it, despite the overall gloom. “I don’t think so”, he replied and he watched as the airman’s breath hitched, he couldn’t hear it but from the way his expression was one of horror, mouth opened and eyes wide and glassy. He looked terrified by his own image in the mirror. Michael wanted so desperately to make it better, whatever it was, to get out of that place and hold him. Yet, Alex was quicker, he took Michael by the hand and against his better judgement they trailed their way towards the stairs. As they were almost there, one of the people in costume tried to jump-scare them and saw Alex flinch violently and tighten his grip on Michael’s hand.

The cowboy decided that enough was enough and he wasn’t about to let Alex willingly drive himself to a panic attack, judging by how tense he seemed they approached the mirrors. He tugged Alex’s hand to the exit on the other side of room and was met with some resistance that quickly faded, and hasten them out of the attraction. Once he declared them far enough he turned to Alex and queried, despite the rapid beating of his heart, as calmly as he could:

“Okay, what the hell just happened?”

Alex opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, visibly distressed and Michael suddenly felt the urge to take it back guilt snaking viciously up his spine, threatening to suffocate him. After a beat Alex finally spoke:

“I get- Sometimes, I see things that aren’t there”, he inhaled sharply, scratching the back of his head, “The psychiatrist says PTSD sometimes can cause hallucinations which I normally don’t have”, he pointed out sounding a bit more like himself, “I don’t know what triggers them but I most definitely just had one. They start small but there’s no way for me to know if they’ll escalate or not”

“Wait”, Michael interrupted him, “So you’re telling me that you had a hallucination and were going to literally drive yourself to a panic attack, for what reason exactly?”, his tone was a sharp and perhaps a bit cruel, but he really couldn’t wrap his head around the airman’s logic

“I figured if I could distract myself, pretend it didn’t happen, maybe it didn’t”, Alex shrugged dejectedly

“Because that works so well”

Alex smiled at that and it tasted like victory since he was on the brink of tears

“Can I hug you?”, Michael blurted out and Alex nodded

He slowly approached the other man then draped his arms over Alex’s shoulder and brought him closer attempting to make him feel as comforted as possible.

“If you ever feel like you can’t trust yourself or your mind you can always talk to me. I’ll be there. Always”, he hugged Alex tighter, closer

“Okay” , he snuggled closer

**Author's Note:**

> pls let me know your thoughts!


End file.
